Maxwell Class Notes
Sarah Pirzada ’16 M.P.A.
was appointed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey as the state’s chief operating officer.
John Pollock ’66 M.P.A.
has penned a new book titled COVID-19 in International Media: Global Pandemic Perspectives (Routledge, 2021).
Alex Jeffrey Rouhandeh ’20 B.A. (CCE/PSt)
is a writer for Newsweek.
Justin G Rudgick ’05 M.P.A.
was named the new president of Christopher Community, Inc., a nonprofit that strives to provide affordable housing in Upstate New York.
Matthew Michael Santacroce ’15 M.P.A.
was appointed chief of the Office of Cannabis Regulation in the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.
Ellen Sax ’80 M.P.A.
is the vice president of community engagement at MVP Healthcare and part of Berkshire Bank’s newly formed community advisory council in the Capital region of New York state.
Peder A Schaefer ’74 M.P.A.
returned to Warwick, R.I., as the city finance director in January 2021. Schaefer previously held the position from 1993 until 1999.
Michael Edward Scherger ’07 M.P.A.
was chosen by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to be the new director for the National Training Center. In this role, he leads training and workforce development programs from the newly renovated facility in Phoenix, Ariz.
John R Selman ’92 M.P.A.
is now the chief operating officer at Amyx, Inc., a managing and consulting firm based out of Reston, Va.
Deborah Seltzer ’08 B.A. (PSt)
has been named executive director of Maryland Legal Services Corp., a funder of civil legal aid, based in Baltimore, Md.
Ekin Senlet ’08 J.D./
was listed as a Chambers U.S.A. 2021 “notable practitioner” in geography. A partner at the law fi rm Barclay Damon, she practices energy and regulatory law in New York state. She was also named a class of 2021 honoree of the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under 40.”
Vikas Sheel ’15 M.P.A.
is an administrative service officer for India and serves as secretary for the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Sheel is part of the national team handling COVID emergency response, and developing and implementing Co-WIN, India’s digital COVID vaccination platform.
Victoria Perez Shires ’04 B.A. (PSt/PSc)
received a “40 under 40” award from the Central New York Business Journal.
Cynthia Simison ’76 B.A. (PSc)
was named The Republican’s first woman executive editor in 195 years. The Republican is a daily newspaper based in Springfield, Mass. It is owned by Newhouse Newspapers, a division of Advance Publications.
J. Ryan Smith ’91 B.A. (PSc)
is currently an anchor for ESPN’s SportsCenter and Outside the Lines. Smith has worked for ESPN as a legal analyst and a correspondent, and he has hosted ABC News shows including 20/20.
Philippe Solages ’00 J.D./M.P.A.
was confirmed as judge to the New York State Court of Claims by the New York State Senate. Solages serves as an acting supreme court justice in Nassau County, N.Y.
Caral E Spangler ’81 M.P.A.
was nominated by President Joe Biden ‘68 for the role of principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army (financial management and comptroller) at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. She was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 27 and confirmed by the full Senate on Aug. 9.
David Sulek ’88 B.A. (PSc)
is senior vice president at Booz Allen, where he analyzes emerging policy, regulatory, market and technology trends for U.S. government clients. He currently focuses on law enforcement issues. Prior to that, he focused on issues surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Megan S Sweeny ’99 M.P.A.
became the chief financial officer of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million people in health care, public services and property service professions.
Ronald James-Terry Taylor ’15 B.A. (PSc/PSt)
was appointed as the new head of Middle School at Browning School in New York City. Prior to the start of this appointment, he was acting director of the Office for Identity, Culture and Institutional Equity at Horace Mann School, also in New York City.